Do you #prayforSomalia like you prayed for Las Vegas?

Here are eight reasons why we think you should.

1. The bombing in Somalia’s capital on the weekend was one of the most lethal terrorist acts anywhere in the world for many years. More than 300 people are believed to have been killed and 300 injured when a truck packed with several hundred kilograms of military-grade and homemade explosives exploded in a busy street in the centre of Mogadishu.

2. On an international scale, the Mogadishu bombing was deadlier than high-profile terrorist attacks such as the Garissa University attack in Kenya in 2015, which killed 147 people, and the US Embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998 in which 200 people died.

3. It was worse than the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attack, which killed about 166 people, the Peshawar school massacre, which left 141 dead, and the Madrid train bombings, in which 192 were killed.

4. It is eclipsed by the New York 9/11 twin tower attacks (2996 killed) and the Beslan school siege in Russia in 2004 in which about 372 were killed, although the death toll in Mogadishu is still mounting as victims are dug from rubble spread over hundreds of metres.

5. Rescue workers believe a definitive death toll may never be established because the intense heat generated by the blast meant the remains of many people will not be found.

6. Somalia’s government blamed the Al-Qaeda-linked Al Shabaab extremist group, which has carried out several deadly car bomb attacks on the city in recent years. However, the Islamic extremist group has yet to comment.

7. Al-Shabaab earlier this year vowed to increase its attacks after Somalia’s recently elected President, Mohamed A Mohamed, announced new military efforts against the group with the support of the Trump administration.

8. The national disaster comes on top of another threat: starvation. The country is gripped by severe drought and 3.1 million people are threatened by famine because of the food shortages and violence, according to UN reports.

Pray

Some prayer points to help

At Eternity, we appreciated these words from US pastor Eugene Cho on Twitter (as reported by Al Jazeera):

“We mourn with Somalia … We confess that our tears are often limited to the West. Forgive us. We long for peace with you.”